Food

From the starter to the dessert: a complete menu made with pumpkin

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Written by Riccardo Perazza

Recipes with pumpkin

Some weeks ago we discovered the different types of pumpkin in this article. Now it s time to practice all that we’ve learned and cook the pumpkin. We suggest you a complete menu made of pumpkin.

Starter: pumpkin meatballs

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Ingredients for 16 meatballs

500 gr of Violina pumpkin
100 gr of breadcrumb
100 gr of Parmigiano
50 gr of smoked scamorza
Sage
1 egg
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Start cutting the pumpkin into pieces, placing it in a baking pan and bake in the pre-heated oven at 200° for 30 minutes. In the meantime grate the cheese and cut into pieces the smoked scamorza. When the pumpkin is cooked, place it in a bowl, smashing it with a fork and add the breadcrumb, parmigiano and the egg. Add also some dices of smoked scamorza that will become stringy during the cooking. Make some balls of 45gr and roll them in the breadcrumb. When the oil is hot soak the balls (not too much at a time) and fry until they are golden.
It is possible to cook the meatballs in the oven at 180° for 20 minutes.

First course: Lasagna with mushrooms, sausage and pumpkin

Pumpkin and Sausage Lasagna

Pumpkin and Sausage Lasagna

200 gr of lasagna

For the pureed soup

500 gr of pumpkin (type Moscata)
400 ml of vegetable broth
1 leek
salt and pepper to taste

Start cleaning the pumpkin cutting the peel and dicing it; cut the leek as well and place everything in a pan and cook the two ingredients together with the vegetable broth until the pumpkin is well-soaked. Remove the broth in excess and save it in a bowl, in the meantime with the mixer blend the vegetables paying attention that it is thick.

For the ragù

460 gr of sausage
rosemary
white wine
salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, prepare the ragù, smashing the sausage and making it into pieces, leave it sear and then simmer and add salt and pepper as you like. Add some pieces of pumpkin to make the dish more crispy.

For the besciamella
500 ml milk
50 gr of flour
50 gr of butter
Nutmeg to taste
Salt qb

Heat the milk in a pan or in the microwave, in the meantime in a pan, mix together butter and flour until you don’t obtain a ball. Then add the warm milk and mix tougher with a whisk until you don’t obtain a smooth and thick cream.

For the mushrooms

500 gr of mushrooms

Sear the mushrooms in a pan with a slice of garlic and make them season together in the pan.

At this point start making your lasagna, placing a little besciamella in the bottom of the baking pan. Place the first lasagna and continue with the besciamella and great spoons of pumpkin pureed soup and then the sausage and the mushrooms.
Continue till the end of the pan.

Second course: Braised meat with pumpkin cream

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Ingredients

800 gr of beef fillet
300 gr of pumpkin (mantovana type)
red wine
250 ml of vegetable broth
resemary
onion
salt and pepper qb
oil qb

For first, prepare the pumpkin cleaning and dicing it. In a pan sear the onion with oil. When you think that it is well softened, add the beef fillet and seal it in every side, add the broth and as you like, also salt and pepper. Close and cook. At half cooking add the pumpkin and if needed, add further broth. After two hours and a half your braised meat is ready. Mix together the sauce, making a thick cream to accompany your braised meat.

Dessert: muffins with pumpkin and apple without butter

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Around 12 muffins

200 g of pumpkin
160 g of flour 00
40 g of almond flour
180 g of sugar
100 gr of seed oil or rice oil
2 whole eggs
half a pocket of baking yeast
a pinch of bicarbonate
cinnamon to taste
1 apple

Cut into pieces the pumpkin, placing it inside the aluminium foil and cook for 30 minutes at 200°, once cooked, blend it.
In a bowl mix together all the ingredients, the flours, the sugar, the yeast, pieces of apple and the bicarbonate. Once mixed add the liquid ingredients, the pumpkin mash, oil and eggs. Mix gently and pour your mix in the paper cases. Cook at 180° for 30-35 minutes.

About the author

Riccardo Perazza